Is govt discouraging people from using RTI Act?

Halfhearted implementation of RTI Act -IV

* RTI Application fee is Rs 50 in J&K, Rs 10 in other states

* Photostat charge is Rs 10 per page in J&K as against Rs 2 in rest of India

SYED ALI SAFVI

SRINAGAR, Nov 2: The RTI Act was enacted to bring transparency and accountability in the government and bureaucracy, and to enable the common man to monitor the functioning of departments. However, the state government seems hell bent on dissuading people from using the Act.

The state government has fixed very high RTI application fee and photocopy charges as compared to other states, thereby discouraging people from filing RTI applications.

The RTI application fee is Rs 50 in Jammu and Kashmir while in other states of India, it is a mere Rs 10. Similarly, photocopy charge is Rs 10 per page as against Rs 2 per page in rest of India.

Despite Chief Information Commission’s recommendation and chief minister, Omar Abdullah’s assurance vis-à-vis slashing of RTI application fee and Photostat charges, nothing has been done so far.

Chief Information Commissioner, GR Sufi, said that some sections in the bureaucracy are under an impression that high fees would reduce the quantity of applications.

“They are under the wrong impression. If a person gets benefited from RTI Act, he can even pay Rs 1000 as application fee,” Sufi said.

He said that after assuming office, he has been asking the state government to slash the application fee and Photostat charges.

“Since the first day, I have been advocating this. I have written many times to the government and even openly said in public that it would have been proper to keep Rs 10 as application fee,” he said.

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, convener J&K RTI movement, questioned the reason for fixing Rs 50 as application fee.

“RTI enables people to seek information. It (RTI) is not meant for revenue generation,” he said.

“Jammu and Kashmir is a conflict zone. Our economy has been badly shattered. By charging high application fee and Photostat charges, the government is actually discouraging people who want to seek information under RTI Act,” Muzaffar said. “RTI Act 2004 was a week act, but it had one plus point. The then government had fixed Rs 5 as application fee.”

He said the government of Haryana had recently reduced application fee and Photostat fee from Rs 50 to Rs 10 and from Rs 10 to Rs 2 respectively.

Muzaffar said that a delegation of RTI activists from Kashmir valley and Jammu had called on the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, in January this year.

“We urged him (CM) to get the application fee and Photostat charges reduced and keep it at par with other states,” Muzaffar said. “The chief minister readily agreed and assured us that he will take up the matter in the cabinet, but nothing has been done I this regard.”

Muzaffar said that most of the PIOs and APIOs have no idea about the modes of payment of application fee.

He said that he and his colleagues have faced some technical problems on ground as far as depositing of application fee is concerned.

“There are five modes of payment of application fee, but none of them is proper. For example, Rs 50 stamp paper is sold at Rs 70 in Kargil so the applicant has to pay Rs 20 more than the amount of actual fee,” he said. “Similarly, Rs 50 stamp paper is sold at Rs 55 in other districts.”

He said Indian Postal Order (IPO) of Rs 50 is also not available at all post offices.

“IPOs are only available at district post offices or central post office,” he said. “Even purchasing a bank draft form is not feasible at times. Some times you have to wait hours together in banks.”

Muzaffar said that his organisation had suggested cash as a mode of payment.

“Cash will be the best mode of payment. For that government needs to publish separate receipt books for RTI. Separate account should be created by public authorities at tehsil and district level,” he said.